The show follows counter-terrorist agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) as he together with fellow agents battle terrorism and save the world, all in 24 hours of real time.
After the five seasons of battling the stereotypical Muslim extremist terrorists, the sixth season turned inward bringing audiences an encounter with Jack’s family as the main evildoers. The results saw Jack torturing his brother, watching his father drown, killing a fellow agent, and seeing his long-time girlfriend Audrey Raines (Kim Raver) slip into a coma caused by unknown drugs and mental trauma. It ended with Jack staring over a cliff at the sunrise into an unknown future.
Season #7 Storyline So Far…
When the writer’s strike started, the first eight episodes were complete. However due to the nature of the show’s real-time format it was impossible to show them. The strike’s settlement gave the show’s writers a rare treat: time to fully plan out a season from start to finish, the first time this has happened in the show’s history. At the season’s halfway point, the planning shows.
The start of season #7 saw the disbandment of CTU (Counter Terrorist Unit), and our unrepentant hero facing a senate hearing for crimes committed as a CTU agent including torture. A few minutes into the hearings Agent Renee Walker (Annie Wersching) arrives and takes Bauer into custody. She wants his help apprehending his supposedly dead (at least to Bauer) former colleague Tony Almedia (Carlos Bernard).
It turns out Tony was revived and turned to the dark side himself, stealing a device that controls air-traffic. However, he’s trying to redeem himself by working a secret operation with Bill (James Morrison), and Chloe (Mary-Lynn Rajskub) trying to uncover a government conspiracy. Eventually Jack is brought into the fold creating one of the most interesting dynamics of this season- Jack’s suspicion of Tony’s motives and loyalties.
A season of 24 is nothing without a storyline involving the White House in some form. And this season gives that to viewers in spades. President Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones) decides to invade a fictional African country involved in civil war, while her husband Henry (Colm Feore) investigates their son’s death and finds their son was murdered. His quest takes him into contact with Colonel Iké Dubaku (Hakeem Kae- Kazim), and gets him shot. Dubaku meanwhile gets himself killed, ending the first storyline of the season.
The second storyline features Dubaku's boss: General Juma. American officials think he’s still in Sangala. Juma leads a brazen attack on White House. Last night’s 12th episode ended with Taylor, and Jack held hostage after a brief escape to the bunker and the threatened torture of her daughter Olivia…
Still Topical
24 has found a way to be topical by reflecting ongoing debates and current events. This season is no exception wading into the torture debate, particularly the question of the information’s legitimacy.
Jack shows no regret for his actions when he was at CTU. As the season develops we see he may not show any regret, but he’s still finding a way to live with his actions. Most notably from last night’s episode Jack tortures someone using a taser for information on the next attack. He gets it, but the President questions its legitimacy. Meanwhile, Agent Walker (Wersching) finds herself having to decide whether to use torture, a relevant question being asked even today.
Want to know what happens next in this action-packed drama? Tune into Fox, and Global next Monday at 9pm. The clock is ticking...
